Family Comes First
by loveretriever
Summary: AU!First Wizarding War era. Dark!Narcissa. What if Narcissa was really the cruel one in the name of family? One-shot written for prompts.


WARNING: Includes mentions of torture. AU!First Wizarding War era. Narcissa-centric.

I don't know why this idea of Dark!Narcissa came to me. But it did :p So there. lol

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments) forum - Hopscotch: (character) Narcissa Malfoy

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments) forum - Chocolate Frog: Write about someone not trusting someone else.

Word count: 1409

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Narcissa loved her family. It was an unspoken rule everyone knew: don't mess with the Malfoy-Black family or Narcissa will hear of it.

Draco loved to say, "My father will hear of this!" But everyone knew Lucius Malfoy wasn't the taskmaster in the family. Lucius was powerful and arrogant, yes. But Narcissa had the calculating cruel mind.

It was true that Narcissa was beautiful. In fact, it was a commonly held belief that Narcissa was the belle of the Black family. While Bellatrix had a dark beauty, her traits of insanity and borderline mental deficiencies were definitely - concerning. Needless to say, Andromeda was the plain one in the family. That left Narcissa's fair beauty. And just like Narcissus himself, Cissy knew she was beautiful and used it to her advantage.

The cold calculating mind of beauty had no bounds. Cissy manipulated everyone in every situation imaginable.

Bella had to work to get her way. Usually, her signature, the Cruciatus curse, was the only way Bella could ensure she claimed victory.

Poor Andromeda hardly ever got her way unless Ted Tonks was in the picture.

But Cissy. For Cissy, the world was her playtoy. Anything she asked for, she received. At fourteen, she already had a line of suitors waiting to claim her hand.

Bella had to work on marriage ties. Finally, Bella met Rodolphus Lestrange when they were fellow Death Eaters. Rodolphus, it was rumoured, had taken a liking to Bella's dark beauty and was just as crazy as her.

Andromeda didn't have to work for anything. Ted loved her and took her away shortly after their graduation from Hogwarts. Not that Ted Tonks was a catch, but Andromeda hung on to her only link to salvation and freedom. Like Sirius Black, Andromeda was seen as a traitor by her family. Like Sirius, Andromeda also thought freedom from a crazy family was the only way to live.

Cissy wrote once to Andromeda, asking how she could do such a thing as run away from her only family.

The response from Andromeda was a moving picture of a happy baby.

Cissy, unlike Bella, kept the picture as a reminder of family.

"Nymphadora," Cissy whispered, holding the picture close. "You're still family, even if you are a half-blood."

Cissy kept a photo album of all the family, including those who were considered traitors. She even had a picture of Harry Potter as a young boy. How she acquired this photo - well, the world may never know.

Cissy had her own secret links and various ways of obtaining information. She used her charm, her reputation and her beauty to get what she wanted when she needed it. Everything in the world was within her fingertips.

The one thing Cissy truly despised was the Dark Lord and everything he represented - lack of family ties. How Bella could ever have been infatuated with that monster, Cissy never knew. But she could see one thing from the beginning: this Dark Lord person had no regard for family. His competitive nature and his inability to care about his followers, his treatment of people like slaves, showed Cissy everything she needed to know about him. She refused to take the mark even when Lucius did simply on principle.

Of course, Cissy never spoke her thoughts aloud. But the Dark Lord didn't think of her less for not taking the Mark. The Death Eaters, at that time, were a purely male establishment. Aside from Bella, who was crazy enough to be one of the guys even by Voldemort's standards, was basically an all-male club for frat brothers with some torture, raping and pillaging thrown in on the side.

How else would the Dark Lord control a group of twenty or thirty hormonal men? Cissy snorted, tossing her head in disgust. The Death Eaters - more like Fraternity of Death!

The first time Narcissa earned respect from the Dark Lord was when Bella was injured after a skirmish.

"Who did this to you?" Narcissa asked, performing healing magic on Bella's wounds. "Who hurt you?"

Bella smiled, grabbing Cissy's arm. "Cissy, please, relax. I am alright. My Lord," she turned to address her master. "My Lord, I'm alright. Please let me prove my allegiance in another mission."

"No! Who did this to you?" Cissy shouted, grabbing Bella's face. Forcing Bella to look her in eye, Cissy whispered, "Who were you hunting?"

Bella licked her lips before hanging her head in shame. "We killed the McKinnons, as you know, with the Dark Lord. As I fled, I got clipped by a spell from one of Dumbledore's precious Order members."

"Which one?" Narcissa asked.

"Ssdtra," Bella mumbled.

"Speak clearly," Cissy insisted, shaking Bella slightly.

Bella sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alastor Moody," she said, "he's the best Auror they've got."

"Alastor, yes, I remember," Cissy mused, lost in thought. Smirking she assured Bella, "He will pay for this!"

Bella sighed. "Cissy, not everything is a strike against the family."

"It is when you're involved!" Cissy shot back, already making plans in her mind.

"What are you going to do?" Bella asked, planting herself in front of Cissy. "What _exactly_ are you up to?"

"I am protecting our family honour and you would do well to not try and stop me this time, Bella," Cissy spoke in her most prim and proper manner.

Bella sighed but said no more as the Dark Lord summoned her.

"Fine," Bella huffed. "But don't call me if you get into trouble!"

Cissy smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry. I won't. Because I don't mean to get caught."

-O-

Cissy finally tracked down the person who had insulted the Black family. Bella had fed her lies, again. Moody would never have hesitated to kill. Not _the_ Alastor Moody, Auror Extraordinaire. No, it was Kingsley Shacklebolt, the greenie, who had marred Bella's beautiful body.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Cissy assured the man when she cornered him, "I'm just going to bash your brains in!" She performed her curse, screaming, "This is for my sister!"

-O-

"Cissy?" Bella whispered. "Cissy? Oh, please, Cissy, wake up! Open your eyes!"

Cissy blinked blearily and slowly wiped her eyes. "Bella?"

"Oh, Cissy!" Bella smiled weakly. "You're back. You're here."

"Where am I?" Cissy wondered.

"You're safe," Bella promised, holding her sister's hand. "You're with me, thanks to our Lord."

Cissy blinked and frowned as another figure came into view.

"Bella has told me all about your - escapade," the sibilant voice hissed in a surprisingly pleasant way. "I am greatly honoured that you have avenged my lieutenant. But tell me, why have you not joined the ranks?" Lord Voldemort cocked his head in inquiry, studying the beautiful blonde laying on the bed before him.

"I have never considered joining the ranks before because it is not my duty," Cissy spoke softly. "My duty is first and foremost to my family. I shall always fulfill my duty. Never doubt my allegiance. But family comes first." Sniffing, Cissy closed her eyes and drifted back into a deep sleep.

It's not that she didn't want to become a Death Eater, although manual labour always scared her. No, that wasn't the reason. Cissy didn't trust the Lord and Master of Hell to watch over her family. Bella had gotten hurt, even though she was the supposed Second-in-Command!

Cissy would never place her faith in the Dark Lord who cared for nothing but his own victory. Besides, Cissy thought as she fell into another dream, I could never bear having a snake tattoo!

The Dark Lord watched as Narcissa fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

"She slumbers," he hissed, looking to Bella.

"She is exhausted," Bella confirmed.

"Very well. She is an excellent woman. I would expect no less from the ancient and noble house of Black."

"Thank you, my Lord," Bella bowed. "You extend to us the greatest of praise."

"I would have a formidable army indeed if your sister joined."

"I fear dear Cissy will always put her baby boy first."

"Yes, I suppose so," the Dark Lord agreed. "In any case, at least the Order has been taught a lesson."

Bella's laugh was the last thing Cissy heard before she passed out of the conscious world.


End file.
